Season Two Episode Reviews

2X1    When She Was Bad 
Plot:  Buffy must deal with her brief death as the vampires try to ressurect the Master.

A bit of a lame season premiere where Buffy is almost an unsympathetic character in her rudeness to her friends.  Kind of a decent plot but not really exciting.  Great to have Angel as a regular, its much cooler just having him around to fight the normal threats than to be cryptic advise guy!  Nice to see Jenny again.  But the best bits are with Xander and Willow, particularly that first scene where they almost kiss.  I'm not a romance kinda guy but I'm routing for Xander-Willow!  Too bad Xander doesn't seem interested anymore with Buffy around.  Also nice to see Cordelia becoming more of a team member despite her superficial insults.

2X2    Some Assembly Required 
Plot:  Students are digging up corpses to make the perfect woman.

This was a pretty good stand-alone with nice subplots, good humor, and a sympathetic villain.  Chris was very sympathetic with his mom and all, even Daryl was though I wonder why he was so strong if he's just human, and they never explained how they ressuricted him.  Giles' first day with Jenny was very cute (especially when Giles misunderstands Buffy with 'how do you feel about Mexicans' being a pickup line).  Hah!  Buffy-Angel brought them closer together while nicely dealing with last episode.  Also funny is Xander bitching about not having a date to Willow while telling off Cordelia who was sorta coming on to him.  Heh heh.

2X3    School Hard 
Plot:  Spike arrives at Sunnydale and attacks the school on parent-teacher night.

Nice action packed episode!  Spike makes for a great dangerous and hilarious vamp, plus he's sympathetic (sorta!) because he's trying to cure his seemingly insane girlfriend Drusilla.  Quite a suspenseful situation ensues with Buffy having to keep her secret safe from the adults while having to save them at the same time.  Nice Angel bit where he pretends to turn on Xander.  Then we got two huge plot twists at the end; Principal Synder and the cops know about vamps and keep it secret, and Spike kills Collin!  Wow!  The Synder thing explains so much!  And Spike killing Collin just totally blew me away because I saw Collin as this season's big villain.

2X4    Inca Mummy Girl 
Plot:  An Incan Mummy Girl is released, lives with Buffy and falls in love with Xander.

A kind of lame episode.  Slow paced, not very funny, but a very sympathetic non-villain.  A bit annoying to get a second Xander loves a monster story so soon.  The exchange student thing too is annoying and way to coincidental.  Still, the Xander love story was kinda nice, especially with poor Willow's reaction, and we get a promise of things to come with Oz's first cameo appearance already taken with Willow.  The Incan bodyguard was a very lame plot device which disappeared quickly.  Hey!  Where's Angel, he's a regular!

2X5    Reptile Boy 
Plot:  Buffy and Cordelia go to a frat party... with demon worshippers!

Pretty bad episode; probably THE worse Buffy episode.  Buffy and Cordelia at a frat party- I don't give a rat's ass.  Lame ass demon action bit- I don't care.  The only good bits were Angel coming to the rescue (great to see him in everyday monster episodes fighting), and a few cute Willow bits; Xander and Buffy braiding her hair watching wierd Indian movies, Willow and Xander sharing their food, Willow chewing out Giles and Angel.  Xander getting 'pledged' by mistake was pretty stupid too.  I suppose we got an evolution in the Buffy-Angel relationship here.

2X6    Halloween 
Plot:  A spell on Halloween turns everyone into their costumes.

This was a really fun episode.  Very surreal.  Xander as a soldier and Willow as a ghost was great, but Buffy got a tad annoying.  Very funny when Angel first runs into them and Willow scares the crap out of Giles walking through a wall.  And in addition to sheer madcap, there's a great Spike subplot; I love how one villain will show up when another villain is around, it's really great.  Also very clever of Spike to study Buffy fighting like that.  And we get the introduction of Ethan Rayne, magical trickster and a hint to Giles' dark past.  Add another Oz glimpses Willow bit, and you've got some great little scenes in addition to a great episode!  Oh, Buffy and Angel officially start dating here too.

2X7    Lie to Me 
Plot:  An old school chum of Buffy's sells her out to Spike.

An average ep with some good little bits.  Most of the time Ford was a tad annoying, but  I liked his cliched expectations of Spike and the fact that he wanted to be vamp because he was dying from a brain tumor.  Good twist which really validates the character.  Some great one-liners:  Xander calling Angel "Dead Boy" and "Bossy the cow".  Buffy having a crush on a guy and listening to "I Touch Myself", Willow taking five minutes to get the meaning.  Xander asks about Angel in Willow's bedroom and she says "Ours is a forbidden love".  One of the vamp wannabes saying I think we should gag her and Buffy saying "I think you should try".  The Buffy jelous of Angel thing was pretty dumb, Giles' monster truck date with Jenny was funny.  Spike and Ford made for a very funny pair.

2X8    The Dark Age 
Plot:  A demon from Giles' past threatens him and his friends.

Pretty decent episode, Giles' dark past is great but the actual demon is pretty lackluster.  The whole episode is pretty dark, especially with Giles.  Ethan is once against a great and hilariously lame villain.  Stopping the vamps from the hospital blood delivery is a great idea we should be seeing a lot more of.  Willow's solution of using Angel to be possessed really was clever, I love seeing Angel fight the demons of the week!  Also interesting is the concept that he's got a demon inside him which fought another demon.

2X9    What's My Line I (part 1 of 2) 
Plot:  Spike plots to cure Drusilla and sicks demon bounty hunters on Buffy.

This was a great huge action episode, the biggest and best yet done by the series at this point, of course it was only part one so it was mainly setup.  I love these huge 'event' episodes which end with each hero in some sort of jepordy.  We get some really out there neato villains and some really great character interaction.  And there's lots of cool little character subplots; career day, Buffy being sad at having no choice in her career (and the very interesting and logical suggestion of being a cop, great idea!), Willow finally meeting Oz, Buffy finally accepting Angel (at a humongous ice rink!), etc.  Plus the revelation about Kendra absolutely blew me away; I wasn't expecting it at all.  Assuming you weren't spoiled ahead of time, this is one of the biggest Buffy plot twists EVER.  Wow!

2X10    What's My Line II (part 2 of 2) 
Plot:  Kendra the Vampire Slayer helps Buffy save Angel from Spike.

This is one of my favorite episodes, just a really fun action episode with tons of great humorous character interaction.  In every scene the dialogue just really sparkles.  While Kendra's accent is extremely annoying, the concept of a second Slayer with no freedom is very intrestesting and I love all of Buffy's sarcastic comments to Kendra.  Hilarious!  Xander and Cordelia making out just totally threw me, this is one of the biggest plot twists in the series I couldn't believe it.  Plus their arguements are really hilarious.  Another shocker was the police woman shooting at Buffy which led to a good fight scene with Oz getting shot.  Angel got to actually show some life when he teased Spike on screwing Dru.  The final action sequence was really great with all the multiple fights going on.  Even Cordelia and Xander get to participate, squishing worm guy.  Loved that!  Also this episode marks the restoration of Dru and the crippling of Spike, big thing.  It's like 5 episodes in one!

2X11    Ted 
Plot: Joyce meets the perfect man Ted, who Buffy is very suspicious of.

Some good ideas, a horrible ending, a bit too mundane.  Buffy being jelous of her mom's new lover while everyone loves him, then Buffy dealing with accidently killing a human, are all good things, particularly the killing part.  Buffy killing Ted was one of those big plot twists that absolutely threw me for a loop, too bad they copped out on it.  Ted being a robot built in the '50s has to be the stupidest idea this series has ever done.  I mean it's just ridiculous!  Demons and dimensions I can buy, but not a sentient robot from 1950 built by one guy.  Ugh!  The Giles and Jenny subplot was also good, Jenny accidently shooting Giles was just hilarious.

2X12    Bad Eggs 
Plot:  Sunnydale High gets possessed, plus vampire cowboys.

A pretty lame episode with the extremely unoriginal mass posessession storyline, plus the annoying concept of feuding vamp cowboy brothers.  Ugh!  Humorless and plot twist less too.  A pretty lifeless ep.  However I did like how we got two enemys and they ran into each other.  Lots of making out with Xander/Cordy and Buffy/Angel, all pretty pointless.  Willow's Jewish.

2X13    Surprise (part 1 of 2) 
Plot:  Spike and Dru try to assemble The Judge to kill humanity; Buffy and Angel reach a turning point.

Too much set-up and not a lot of action, but very good.  Major turning points are reached with Willow and Oz begining dating, Oz finding out about Slayers and vamps, Buffy and Angel having sex, Jenny revealed as a gypsy spy on Angel (this was a great plot twist!  I didn't see it coming!).  Lots of good dialogue exchanges, and some good plotting with Spike and Drusilla.  It's all too slow though, nothing really happens!  I also didn't like the tease of Angel leaving for months, which lasts all of five minutes.  And that cliffhanger was pretty confusing and worthless, unless you know what happens next it's totally nonsensical Angel running off screaming like that.

2X14    Innocence (part 2 of 2) 
Plot:  Angel turns evil and helps Spike, Dru, and the The Judge.

One of the best, period!  Angel turning evil absolutely blew me away, it is such a major risk to do because of all the consequences.  I fully expected him to be cured at the end of the episode, and was shocked when it didn't happen.  This is what kicks off the high point of the series, with Angelus tormenting Buffy.  In addition to that we get more great dialogue and character turning points; Willow catches Xander and Cordy, Jenny's betrayal is revealed to the gang, Willow tries to makeout with Oz who refuses until the time is right (he's so sweet!).  Xander using his "Halloween" military knowledge to raid an army base is just the coolest, cleverest thing in the world.  In the end it was Xander who saved the day here, and having this military knowledge is a really cool thing for him to get.  As for painful scenes how bout Angelus telling Buffy she was bad in bed?  Ouch!  Also Angelus showing up to kill Xander and Willow, hints of things to come.  And man, the finale in the mall, wow!  Bazooking the Judge was just hilarious and an amazing visual, it's a little anti-climactic but it makes perfect sense.  Then we get a kick ass fight between Buffy and Angel!  What more can you ask for?  Plus a really touching Buffy-Giles scene where he comforts her saying it isn't her fault and the coming months are going to be hard on them all.  Nice to Oz becoming part of the gang!

2X15    Phases 
Plot:  A Werewolf terrorizes Sunnydale, and Angelus is around too.

A pretty good average episode.  Really great character moments with Willow/Oz and Xander.  Xander inadvertently 'coming out' with Larry the bully was very hilarious, but unfortunately this episode was full of ridiculous overblown statements about boys and their hormones.  Ugh, no thanks!  Oz continues to be a cool character, but he really should have confessed the Were thing right away so Buffy could help him, sure he thought he killed a girl but he should have done it to prevent MORE deaths.  Cain the Were hunter was just an annoying tagged-on character.  Really neat the way Angelus figures into the story, killing one of Buffy's colleagues.  Some extra spice to the mix.  Also nice was Willow confronting Oz and showing some strength just as becomes a Werewolf.  And Oz's classic reaction to finding out the truth:  "Huh".

2X16    Bewitched, Bewildered, and Bewildered 
Plot:  A mistaken spell makes all women lust after Xander, and Angelus is around too.

A very funny episode!  All the girls chasing after Xander was funny, but it did get a tad repetetive.  Xander and Cordy breaking up then getting back together was all a bit tired.  Nice to see Amy again and as a practicing witch.  Nice to see Angelus making Spike jealous over Drusilla.  Again it's very cool when the main plot/villain gets mixed up with more in this case Angelus and Drusilla.  Too bad Angelus never got the oppurtunity to really torment Buffy on Valentine's Day.  It's also a shame that Willow got so little to do when under the spell, when her hidden love for Xander is such a big thing to the characters.  Amy turning Buffy into a rat was funny, especially when Oz spots Buffy naked and whips that flashlight off!  Cordy becoming a dork again to stay with Xander was... okay I guess.  Character evolution, I suppose.

2X17    Passion 
Plot:  Angelus terrorizes Buffy and her companions.

This was a classic, but literally painful to watch.  Once again it's amazing how far this Angelus plot is going.  Lots of logical and risky things happened; having to stop Angelus from coming in all the homes he's been invited to over the past year, Angelus telling Joyce the truth (well not all of it), Angelus being able to KILL Buffy's friends.  Angelus killing Jenny after chasing her through the school was one of the most painful and  shocking things ever done on this series.  It really blew me away, I thought they were finally giving her a chance to redeem herself.  But in a way she did because she found the cure, and it's waiting stuck behind a desk...  Also great is Giles rushing off to kill Angelus, after finding Jenny's body in his bed.  Very touching stuff with Buffy and Giles.  Angel continues to drive Spike insane...

2X18    Killed by Death 
Plot:  Buffy is hospitalized with the flu and finds an invisible child-killing demon.

This episode was really bad!  Humorless, dark, boring, uninteresting, about the only thing going for it was the spooky looking demon.  Buffy getting sick was an interesting idea, but it doesn't have enough weight for an entire episode!  It was just a big case of who gives a crap, especially for the doctor.  About the only good thing was Willow faking a frog panic attack for a distraction.  And what a coincidense this same demon killed Buffy's cousin years ago!  The whole stuff with the kids was annoying too.  Ugh!

2X19    I Only Have Eyes For You 
Plot:  A poltergeist re-enacts a murder-suicide in Sunnydale High.

Dark and humorless but not really exciting enough to make up for it.  The poltergeist angle isn't played up enough, though the snake attack was nice.  The very strange ending with Buffy and Angel in gender role reversals seems to be a strange mixture of comedy and tragedy, I'm not sure it mixes so well.  Kind of hard to take it seriously.  Interesting little plot bits; Principal Synder knows about the Hellmouth and keeps it secret for The Mayor (the first mention of who will become a VERY important character!) and Spike is secretly healed and plotting revenge on Angelus.

2X20    Go Fish 
Plot:  Something is up with the swim team and it's fish monsters.

Nice humorous ep with some stupid bits, but entertaining.  Pretty lame ending but Xander on the swim team and Willow interrogating people is funny.  Once again nice little inclusion of a second villain (Angelus) into the main plot.  The fishies sounded pretty dumb.

2X21    Becoming I  (part 1 of 2) 
Plot:  Angelus and Drusilla plot the end of the world; Kendra arrives to help; the history of Angel.

This is one of the best.  Best parts are the flashback history of Angel, extremely interesting stuff.  His becoming a vamp from Darla; first meeting Drusilla; getting his souls from gypsies; and Whistler recruiting him to "be somebody" and protect Buffy.  Him watching Buffy discover her destiny and feeling affection for her was just really touching, especially when she hides in her bathroom while her parents argue about her and he watches heartbroken.  Wow.  The present plot isn't as good but it's still great, a tad bit of set-up.  The Acaltha demon is very interesting (not as entertaining as The Judge because of the lack of humor, but this is a dark story).  Great to see Kendra and Oz again.  Great to see the gang finally finding Jenny's cure for Angel and trying it.  Shocking to see a vamp burn herself before a class in school just to send Buffy a message.  A great ending fight with Buffy/Angel then the gang versus a gang of vamps and Dru.  Great fights!  Also big consequences; Xander and Willow are seriously injured, Giles is captured by the vamps, and Kendra is KILLED.  I couldn't believe Kendra was killed, this is one of those plot twists that absolutely blew me away.  Then to top it all Buffy gets arrested for Kendra's murder!  Woah!

2X22    Becoming II (part 2 of 2) 
Plot:  Buffy must stop Angelus from bringing hell to earth.

While it's pretty painful to watch, this is probably the best episode period.  So many things changed so drasticially in this one episode.  Buffy a fugitive from the law; Buffy kicked out of school; Buffy running away; Joyce finding the truth about Buffy; Spike turning on Dru and Angelus to help Buffy; Angelus getting cured then sent to hell.  The Buffy-Spike pairing was hilarious, especially when Spike and Joyce share an uncomfortable silence.  Sure this plot was lead into a lot, but it was still cool.  Nice to see Spike isn't so bad after all.  Joyce finally finding the truth about Buffy about Buffy really blew me away, I thought it would never happen.  Their subsequent arguement was a really great scene, too bad there wasn't enough time to really deal with it.  Buffy learns Synder is aware of strange going-ons (and it sounds like The Mayor was behind Synder kicking her out!).  And how painful was Dru making Giles see Jenny?  The entire final act was just amazing, between Willow's spell the Buffy-Angel fight, etc.  Love seeing Spike wail on Angelus, but it was dumb that Buffy fought henchmen vamps and never Drusilla- they've never fought!!!  The Buffy-Angel sword fight was cool.  Course the best/worst scene of the series is Buffy consoling a newly restored Angel and then killing him.  That was just an amazing, painful scene.  Wow.  And Angel going to hell, another huge plot twist.  I couldn't believe it happened (of course this sacrifice was backed out on in the next season but that's later!).  An absolute classic all around, unfortunately it's so dark and painful I don't know if it can be called enoying or not...